The outgoing head of the European Union delegation to Türkiye has touted progress in the country’s accession to the bloc in recent years "even if they didn’t take a step as big as some had hoped."

"The Turkish-EU relationship, multilateral and complicated, is not an easy one," Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Wednesday as his tenure ended in Türkiye.

"I believe we made progress on certain topics over the past four years," Landrut said, pointing out that Türkiye has joined nine EU programs and that comprehensive cooperation in research fields has been increased.

The German diplomat said his office has helped establish 10 high-level dialogues in various fields, from health care to agriculture and science, and assured more would follow.

He believes increasing interaction for the development of cooperation has been successful.

Citing shared geography and history across Anatolia and Europe, Landrut argued: "We need to work on both sides to develop our relations to understand one another and to create room for better cooperation. Then ties will develop step by step."

The envoy also noted that exploring common points between Türkiye and the bloc could help clear misunderstandings and differences.

"Both sides need to work harder on getting to know each other to understand one another and once they do, they can build ties," he said.

Türkiye has been a candidate for EU membership for more than two decades, but talks stalled in 2016 over what Ankara says is the bloc’s "insistence on politicizing the issue" and has been essentially frozen since last year.

Türkiye suggests it has fulfilled most of the criteria for membership. Though the accession process stalled, the country has remained a key economic and defense partner for the 27-member bloc.

Since the start of summer, Ankara and the bloc have been working to rekindle ties, which, for many years, have operated not toward mutual trust and strategic goals but only out of necessity.

After the presidential and parliamentary elections concluded in May 2023, Brussels shifted its rhetoric from "the importance of cooperation with Türkiye" to "continuing relations on a strategic and forward-looking basis."

The bloc emphasizes strategic interest in developing relations with Türkiye based on cooperation and mutual benefit, but the division of the island of Cyprus between its Greek and Turkish Cypriot populations, a source of friction between Greece and Türkiye, remains a plague on ties.

Visa troubles

Landrut also spoke about the visa issue that troubles Turkish citizens seeking to travel to the member countries of the bloc.

He denied the allegations of a policy complicating the visa process for Turkish citizens across EU states.

"Visa applications from Türkiye increased by 30% in 2023 compared to previous years. Nearly 1 million visas have been used," Landrut informed. "I know this will not make it easier for anyone waiting for an appointment, but my message is this: We have certain practical issues that we need to work on, but there is no visa policy ‘against Türkiye.’"

Belgian Consulate General in Istanbul Tim Van Anderlecht revealed that his mission is planning a 50% capacity increase for soaring visa demand from Turks.

"We issued nearly 13,000 visas last year. This year, we plan to raise this to 18,000 or 19,000," Anderlecht told AA on Wednesday.

The Belgian Consulate doesn’t impose a wait time for fast-track business and student visa applications, but the wait time can stretch for family reunions.

"We will continue increasing the capacity until there’s a comfortable balance between supply and demand," Anderlecht said.